Akron RubberDucks right fielder Jordan Smith blasted a one-out, RBI triple to center field in the top of the ninth inning Friday night, setting the stage for a 2-1 victory over the Harrisburg Senators in the opener of a three-game series at Metro Bank Park.

After a two week hiatus because of the insane amount of time spent on the draft there past two weeks here at the IBI, the Happenings are back! In today’s report, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the season that outfielder Tyler Naquin has had and the significant adjustment he has made which has led to a major improvement in an area of greatest weakness. He also looks at the sensational season that lefty Luis Lugo is having, provides tons of comments from Ross Atkins and Ted Kubiak on several players and roster issues - including some absolutely glowing comments on catcher Francisco Mejia - and provides an update on Jose Ramirez, Bryson Myles, Adam Miller, Giovanny Urshela and much more.

The night after only the Akron RubberDucks were in action, the Cleveland system had seven games going on thanks to the combination of two doubleheaders and the end of the All-Star break for Carolina and Lake County. Two RubberDucks still headlined the night, however, with Will Roberts putting together his best start of the season and Francisco Lindor showing off some power. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down the busy night in the system and takes you Around the Farm.

After finding themselves in an early 2-0 hole, the Akron RubberDucks rebounded with three runs in two innings to take a 3-2 victory against the Reading Fihgtin Phils. The RubberDucks were led by multi-hit games from three players, including five total bases from star short stop Francisco Lindor. Will Roberts picked up the win for Akron and Shawn Armstrong tallied his 10th save of the year.

With the combination of All-Star games and bad weather leaving Akron as the sole affiliate in action Wednesday, Jim Piascik trained the Around the Farm focus solely on the RubberDucks. They did not disappoint, as the combination of a lengthy Joseph Colon outing and some home run power led the RubberDucks to victory. Join Jim as he breaks down Colon and his success to date, takes a look at Anthony Gallas' debut in Akron, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Akron RubberDucks managed just five hits compared to 11 for the Reading Fightin Phils, but still took the win, 4-3, Wednesday. Akron got the hits that counted as Jake Lowery, Anthony Gallas and Francisco Lindor each hit solo home runs. Joseph Colon picked up the win for the RubberDucks for a solid eight innings of work and Tyler Sturdevant got the save.

The RubberDucks (41-30) started their road trip off with a bang on Tuesday night with 15-8 win over the Fightin Phils (33-34). The team combined for nine extra-base hits, including two doubles and four RBI from recently featured outfielder Anthony Gallas and a 2-run triple from Joey Wendle.

The RubberDucks (40-30) lost two series in the past week, one to the Binghamton Mets where they lost 4 out of 5, and the Eastern League-best Portland Sea Dogs, where lost two out of three. The IBI's Spencer Davies recaps the week that was for Akron in his latest notebook...

It’s been awhile since we last posted a Hot List. Such is the way things work once the draft season kicks in. The IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at all of the good and some not so good performances in the Indians minor league system so far in June and provides insight and information into the struggles for Cody Anderson, the hot hitting Tyler Naquin and Carlos Moncrief, the hot pitching of Luis Lugo and Ryan Merritt, and much more.

In front of a Father’s Day crowd at Canal Park, it was all Sea Dogs from the beginning to the end in the series tiebreaker on Sunday afternoon. Cody Anderson lost his fifth game of the season. The right-hander finished the day with six walks and three earned runs in just 4.2 IP.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the hitters last week, today we focus on the pitchers. It is still early enough that there is some noise in the numbers, but at this point in the season, we are starting to see some interesting trends emerge. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks it all down, including Carolina left-hander Ryan Merritt continuing to dominate at the High-A level, Lake County left-hander Luis Lugo's slightly hidden greatness, and much more.

In front of the second consecutive sold out crowd of 8,107 at Canal Park on Military Appreciation Night, Portland’s Henry Owens bested the RubberDucks’ Duke von Schamann in a pitchers duel, leading his Sea Dogs to a 5-1 road victory. The RubberDucks (40-29) will try to win the rubber match with the Sea Dogs (43-23) tomorrow on Fathers Day.

In a match-up between the Eastern League's two first place teams, Akron right-hander Will Roberts filled the role of stopper, hurling six innings and allowing just one run to lead Akron to a 6-1 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs in the series opener at Canal Park on Friday.

Indians first basement Nick Swisher completed a rehab appearance at Double-A Akron this week and was activated by the Indians on Thursday in Boston. But the impression he left on the players in Akron and the sincere love of the game he shows was something to take in and witness firsthand, which is exactly what the IBI's Hayden Grove did. He sat down and talked to Swisher about his Akron experience and more...

Nights like Clint Frazier had on Thursday have not come as frequently as we would like for the center fielder so far in 2014, but while Frazier is struggling a bit this year, putting up big stats this season is not the real goal. It is more important right now for Frazier to learn about the grind that is the minor league season, just like another top prospect a few years ago with. Join Jim Piascik as he explains Frazier's situation in more detail, breaks down Carlos Moncrief's recent surge, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Akron RubberDucks looked to be in good shape through four innings with a 1-0 lead, but the wheels came off when they were down by a run going into the seventh. The Binghamton Mets scored eight runs in that frame alone to pave the way for a 11-3 victory. Akron was outhit, 14-8, in the loss.

The Akron RubberDucks won a series at New Britain, taking two out of three from the Rock Cats. The team then lost two out of three to the Senators in Harrisburg. Tuesday, the team was swept in a double-header by the Binghamton Mets. Akron has now dropped five of their last nine games. The IBI's Spencer Davies recaps the week that was for Akron in his latest notebook...

Nick Swisher and the energy he brings to everything he does was back in Canal Park Wednesday for the second straight night as the first baseman continued his rehab assignment. After a bit of a down game Tuesday, Swisher looked the part of a major leaguer, lining two doubles and totaling three hits. Jim Piascik was there Wednesday and spoke with Swisher, along with other coaches and players, about the state of his knee and how ready the first baseman is to rejoin the big league roster. Join Jim as he details Swisher's night and recaps the rest of the action in the system as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Akron RubberDucks managed to tally 16 hits, but still lost, 12-6, to the Binghamton Mets Wednesday. Three different RubberDucks tallied three hits in the game, but the scoring touch wasn't there when it mattered most, even though the team finished five for 15 with runners in scoring position. Binghamton tallied 12 hits in its winning effort.

Nick Swisher coming into Akron on rehab assignment was about the only thing that was exciting about Tuesday night’s first game of a doubleheader, which the RubberDucks dropped 8-1 to the Mets. Binghamton won Game 2 as well, 10-5.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!